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Missing
Joseph Skyler Burnley

Burnley, approximate date 2016

Possible current location

Personal data at the time of disappearance

Missing Since: June 3, 2016 from Rankin County, Mississippi

Missing person classification: Endangered Missing

Date of Birth: October 18, 1988
Age at disappearance: 27 years old

Weight and Height: 5'9, 160 pounds

Distinguishing Characteristics: White male. Brown hair, hazel eyes. Burnley has tattoos on his chest, abdomen and both arms; photos of some of his tattoos are posted below this case summary. He goes by the nickname Sky.
Clothing/Jewelry Description: A short-sleeved yellow button-down shirt, blue shorts and a baseball cap; a photo of Burnley in these clothes is posted below this case summary.

Details of Disappearance and work by Brian Ladd:login to view) (login to view)

Burnley was last seen in Rankin County, Mississippi on June 3, 2016. He disappeared after helping two friends, Travis Lee Brewer and Brewer's girlfriend Amanda June Morris, find Brewer's stolen 1988 Chevrolet pickup truck and his cellular phone, which was inside the truck when it was stolen. According to Morris and Brewer, they tracked the phone to the woods outside of Brandon, Mississippi, drove there and got out of the car, leaving Morris and Brewer and Morris's four-year-old daughter inside it. Brewer and Burnley split up in the woods and went in different directions to look for the truck. Burnley was videotaped on a gas station surveillance camera in the area at 9:48 a.m.
Brewer eventually returned to the truck without Burnley. He and Morris looked for him on their own and were unable to find him, and finally called 911 to report his disappearance at 1:00 a.m. on June 4, fifteen hours after they realized he was missing. By then, he told the 911 operator, he had found his missing truck along the road, damaged and without the cellular phone. Matthew McCoy was subsequently charged with stealing the truck. Burnley has never been heard from again.
Brewer and Morris were the last person known to have seen Burnley; they were arrested on misdemeanor drug charges after his disappearance. Photos of them are posted below this case summary. Authorities found evidence of drug use at Brewer's home in Pearl, Mississippi, where Burnley spent the night of June 2/3, and they stated all three of them were involved in the drug trade. Days after Burnley's disappearance, police found Brewer's cellular phone lying on the grass in a wooded area off Bridges Road; they stated it appeared as if the phone had been thrown from the truck.
Investigators stated there were discrepancies in the witnesses's stories and they think Burnley's disappearance could be a potential homicide. He didn't normally carry cash at the time of his disappearance. He kept in regular touch with his grandmother, whom he cared for. His case opened 2018 by Psychic Brian Ladd.